In the end I had done a complete about-face on the entire spa experience. Mel told me immediately that she can see very clearly, where the three rocks had been placed along my spine. Bright red. Not burnt crispy black like I had imagined. But quite red. Guess it was supposed to be that way all the while. I was able to check out the rest of the spa including having a sauna, then headed back to the pool deck and found Miss Mel still sleeping in the pod. She stirred and awoke and I gave her the news from the front.
I then told her I was off to the Apple Internet Cafe to try to figure out how to get the WiFi working. Well, as suspected, that problem was simply a matter of financing. Seems that you had to sign into the Silhouette's server first so they can begin charging you. They assign you an account and you buy WiFi minutes using your ship credit card. The more minutes you buy, the cheaper they cost. The smallest package was 75 cents (U.S.) a minute. The cheapest was 45 cents. I opt for 212 minutes at 45 cents each package.
Once understood, the rest was easy and I was up and running in no time. Checking e-mail was easy enough and not too costly. If a lengthy message arrived we would download everything, sign out, then go back and read off line. Writing was the same. Compose, save, sign in, send. This conserved our minutes as best as we could but we still chewed through them really quick.
Mel and I spent the afternoon lounging by the pool. Mostly asleep. We roused in time to try to make the Grand Cuvee for a sit-down dinner but there was such a huge line-up by the time we arrived we elected to head back to the Ocean View for another kick at the buffet. Good thing, too. They had the Goan Indian fish. And it seemed even hotter than the last time. Probably the same batch that just grew a little in 24 hours.
Brilliant!
Immediately following dinner we headed off to the Silhouette Theatre for our first, big Broadway-inspired show. It was actually very good. They had a lot of the same jazz musicians we had seen previously in other formats, doing the live big band thing. And they were great. That added four, star vocalists, surrounded them with a host of very capable dancers and unleashed the whole thing on a 3-D stage that elevated, telescoped, recessed and morphed 'Every Which Way But Loose'. They served up the major hits from select Broadway shows including Footloose, Grease, Cats and The Phantom, to name a few. All the while we were sucking back on Mojitos. Mmmmmm. Fresh mint. Good for you.
I can't speak to the hours the performers had to adhere to, but you have to believe this is an excellent gig for young talent. Everyone of the performers appeared to be no older than 30. Possibly 25. And they really were very good. So, too, the production and the staging. For a kid just out of school, with accommodation and meals all covered and you get time off in the ports of call to see the world like the rest of us, and get paid for it, it's a pretty good opportunity. I spoke to one employee in Guest Services who said you can actually get on and off ships in different cities if you want to have an extended stay somewhere. You just catch the next ship coming through. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Bed early after the show and sleeping again in no time. Same as home. For the last 18 months. This doing nothing is still exhausting.
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